Varieties of Understanding: Challenges and new Directions

Keynote speakers

Stephen Grimm
(Fordham)

Allan Hazlett
(WU, St. Louis)

Soazig Le Bihan
(Montana)

Tania Lombrozo
(Princeton)

  • Lorem
  • Ipsum
  • Dolor

Varieties of Understanding: Challenges and new Directions

The dawn of the XXI century saw the beginning of an explosion of interest in the nature of the precious cognitive achievement that goes by the ordinary name of “understanding”. Two and a half decades later, the literature produced by epistemologists, philosophers of science, cognitive psychologists, has shed so much light on so many aspects and manifestations of the diverse forms that understanding can take, that it feels appropriate to ask where our understanding of understanding stands at the present, after all those contributions. This conference aims to address that very general question by calling for papers that tackle the following more specific questions and related ones:

  • What distinguishes understanding from knowledge, explanation, and interpretation?

  • Is understanding an epistemically privileged cognitive state? what grounds this privilege?

  • What are the theoretical vs. practical dimensions of understanding? How do they interact / inform each other?

  • How can recent advances in cognitive science, AI, or data science challenge traditional views on understanding?

  • What novel frameworks or theories offer promising directions for studying understanding in diverse contexts (scientific, social, ethical)?

  • How does understanding vary across different disciplines, cultures, and historical contexts?

  • Can diverse epistemic traditions contribute to a more pluralistic view of understanding?

  • How do practical activities (like craftsmanship or performing arts) contribute to our understanding of complex concepts?

  • What role should embodied, tacit, or skill-based knowledge play in our theoretical models of understanding?

Abstracts of 700-1000 words, and any questions concerning this conference, must be sent to understandingUNAM@gmail.com

  • Deadline for submissions: March 31, 2025.

  • Notification of acceptance: April 11, 2025.

Selected papers will enjoy one hour slots, 30 min. for presentation and 30 min. for questions and discussion.

Scientific Committee

  • Otavio Bueno (Miami)
  • Catherine Elgin (Harvard)
  • Luis Estrada González (UNAM)
  • Insa Lawler (UNC Greensboro)
  • Federica Malfatti (Innsbruck)
  • Andrei Ionuț Mărășoiu (Bucharest)
  • Ana Rosa Pérez-Ransanz (UNAM)
  • Michael Strevens (NYU)
  • Pedro Stepanenko-Gutiérrez (UNAM)